In conjunction with Rutgers University’s 250th anniversary celebration, the university will raise money to benefit children with cancer at its annual Rutgers Medical vs. Dental Charity Hockey Game on Friday, April 8. The game, taking place at the Prudential Center in Newark, pits the New Jersey Medical School’s “Medwings” against the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine’s “Bitewings” in a lively contest that has quickly become a classic since the first game was played in 2013. This year’s game is a fund-raiser for children and families of the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation (ECF); proceeds will be used to assist the more than 200 families that ECF currently supports. Admission is just a $5 donation at the door.
The event is being coordinated by Joseph Ippolito, a pediatric cancer survivor who is now a Rutgers medical student. Ippolito and his family received support and assistance from ECF, a nonprofit organization based in New Jersey, when he was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma at the age of 5 months.
Becoming a doctor, Ippolito says, is his way of “paying it forward” in thanks for having survived his cancer. He plans to specialize in reconstructive surgery for children whose bones, joints and muscles have been ravaged by cancer.
“I was incredibly fortunate. And I think it’s always been in the back of my mind to want to go back and pay back,” he says. The charity hockey game gives him another opportunity to “pay it forward” by raising funds for ECF.
At a time when most babies are learning to babble, crawl and feed themselves, Ippolito was enduring punishing but necessary medical treatments. He went through more than 10 rounds of a particularly aggressive cocktail of chemotherapy drugs before his first birthday as part of an experimental protocol. At age 1, he underwent a 13-hour operation to successfully remove the tumor. Six months later, his cancer was declared in remission.
His young West Orange parents, Brian and Eileen, were both teachers at the time, but Eileen had to give up her part-time job in order to care for her son. Brian was laid off from his job, and had to take another position with a lower salary and no medical benefits. As a result, the family began to suffer extreme hardship. But ECF stepped in to help the family cope with daily life in the face of a cancer diagnosis.
ECF was established in 1983 by a Scotch Plains couple whose 7-year-old son, Emmanuel, had died from Burkitt’s lymphoma, a relatively rare but insistent form of cancer that attacks the body’s immune system. ECF is one of a handful of nonprofit organizations in New Jersey that provide services to families undergoing the physical, emotional and financial struggle of caring for a child with cancer. At last count, ECF has assisted more than 2,000 families with free, in-home counseling and care, material assistance, and emergency financial aid.
“I had to stop working and it took a huge toll,” says Eileen Ippolito. “Yet here was [our caseworker] bringing bags of toys and clothes to our front steps.”
“What ECF does goes far beyond providing financial assistance,” says Joseph Ippolito. “They actually put people on the ground and go into families’ homes. That makes an incredible difference on the emotional side for families.”
For information about the charity hockey game, please contact Joseph Ippolito at 973-820-1768 or joeipp98@gmail.com. (Ippolito is also available for interviews by phone or in person.)
About the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation
The Emmanuel Cancer Foundation (ECF) marks its 33rd year of providing support to New Jersey’s pediatric cancer patients and their families. ECF’s mission is to provide a variety of specialized services, at no charge, to any New Jersey family facing the challenges of caring for a child with cancer. We accomplish this through professional in-home counseling; advocacy on behalf of the families; material support such as food, clothing, toys, and household items; and emergency financial relief. For information about the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, visit www.emmanuelcancer.org, or contact Joann Passantino, Executive Director, (908) 322-4323 x16, jpassantino@emmanuelcancer.org.
